Trauma Team: The Umbrella Chronicles
by Ridler
Summary: An unknown virus that turns people into mindless beasts with one bite attacks Resurgam. Will the doctors there manage to fight off the disease before it's far too late? Awesome fic, one of my best!
1. A Normal Day At Resurgam

'Please prepare the synthetic bone, Dr. Torres' Dr. Freebird said as he was holding down the patient's bone into place.

'Right away!' Maria Torres smiled and prepared the small cylinder for cutting, then adjusted the laser. Hank Freebird took it and cautiously cut out the perfect size for the patient's missing bone fragment, then put it into place and secured it with bolts.

'That should do it' he closed the wound with the stapler, then looked at the X-ray photo on the wall. 'As far as I can see, nothing else is broken. He's lucky'

'I'm quite surprised, actually. He was in a pretty bad shape when I found him. Still, not many manage to get through a head-on collision with a speeding car with just a broken leg. Good job, Hank!'

'Thank you'

After finishing up the surgery, the two left the rest to the nurses and went outside.

Just in front of the door stood chief Esha Patel.

'Hey! How did it go?' she smiled.

'He'll recover completely. It's a miracle he got away with just a broken leg'

Maria yawned.

'Gyaaah… I'm gonna go take a shower'

'Yeah, I'll do that too' Hank said and quickly bid farewell to Maria and Esha, then left.

He was just about to open the door to the showers when it opened by itself.

'Yo, Hank!' the orthopedic surgeon could smell the smoke coming from his friend's cigarette.

'Hi, Gabe. What's up?'

'Not much. Assisted Tomoe with a surgery. What about you?'

'Adjusted a broken leg'

Gabe laughed.

'Just what I expected'

Hank took off his coat and entered the showers.

'By the way, Hank…'

'Huh?'

'Did you hear the news?'

'News?'

'Yeah' Dr. Gabriel Cunningham turned to his friend and smirked. 'We're getting a new addition'

'New doctor? In Resurgam?'

'Some big shot brain surgeon is joining us'

'Interesting… Can't wait to meet him…'


	2. The New Doctor

Gabe was standing on the helipad, expecting the newest addition to the Resurgam family.

The helicopter carrying him was not late.

The black metal bird slowly lowered, then completely landed. Its door opened.

A young man, no more than 25 years old, with black hair and sunglasses left it. He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and trousers.

'Hi, you must be Dr. Bertrand' the diagnostician smiled.

'Please, call me Adam' the man smiled back and removed his glasses.

'I'm Gabe. Gabe Cunningham' he looked at the chopper. 'Nice bird'

'Thanks. It's my personal one'

"Personal helicopter?" Gabe almost dropped his cigarette. "How much of a 'big shot' is this guy, exactly?"

A few seconds later, Cunningham's pager beeped. He looked at it.

'Hmm, it looks like there's a patient waiting for me. Let's go, I'll introduce you to Tomoe. She'll show you around the hospital'

'Oh, cool. Thanks' Adam waved to his helicopter pilot, who promptly took off.

They entered the hospital and wandered around for a while before they could find the endoscopy office.

Gabe knocked a few times on it politely, then entered.

Tomoe Tachibana stood up and went to him.

'Dr. Cunningham! What a pleasant surprise! Is this our new addition?'

'Yeah. Dr. Bertrand, this is Dr. Tachibana'

'It's a pleasure to meet you, miss' Adam smiled politely. Tomoe blushed a little bit.

'So, Tomoe… I have a patient waiting for me in the exam room. Do you mind showing Dr. Bertrand around?'

'It is against the path of honor to ignore members of the family, no matter how new to it they are. Come, Dr. Bertrand' she smiled.

Adam smiled back.

'Thank you, Dr. Tachibana'

Gabe winked to Tomoe and left the office, then headed as fast as possible to the exam room.

The patient was most likely getting fed up with waiting.


	3. The Patient

'Good day, doctor' Roni greeted Dr. Cunningham when he opened the door.

'Shut up' Gabe hissed at it, then turned at his patient.

It was a young girl, about 14 years old, with long, brown hair and clean, white face.

She was trembling.

'Hi there! I'm sorry I made you wait. I'm Dr. Cunningham' he greeted her.

'H-hello'

The doctor looked at her charts.

'Alright then, Lizzy, why don't you tell me what's wrong?'

'Well… A couple of days ago I started feeling nauseous. I had a headache too'

'Hmm… Roni, why don't you make a note of that?'

'Understood, doctor' the robot spoke. 'New symptoms observed: Nausea. Headache'

The girl looked at the monitor, startled by it.

'It's one of those new diagnostic machines' Gabe said. 'Just ignore it. So, what else?'

'Well… I've been feeling very tired, and… I took my temperature at home, and it was 39 degrees C…'

'Hmm… Interesting… How are you feeling now?'

'I'm a little bit better. I could come here by myself, but… I'm still feeling weak'

'I see. And I couldn't help but notice your trembling. Roni, write that down!'

'Right away, doctor. New symptoms observed: Fever. Tiredness. Shaking'

In just a moment, the doctor's eyes met with those of his patient.

And he noticed something weird.

'Wait a second… Your eyes… They're discolored…'

'Wait… They are?' she panicked.

'Yeah'

'But I… I looked at the mirror before I went out, and they looked just fine!'

'Hmm… Roni!'

'Understood, Doctor. New symptom observed: Sudden Eye Discoloration'

'Oh God…' the girl looked down at her feet.

'Lizzy, just calm down, alright? Let's continue the exam'

'Doctor… I don't feel so good…'

The girl lost her balance and almost fell off the chair.

'Hey! HEY!' he got up and helped her. 'I need some help over here!' the doctor yelled through the door.

'No… No, doctor, I'm alright… It's just… everything went dark before my eyes for a second… '

'Roni!'

'Yes, doctor!'

As the robot recorded the symptoms, Dr. Cunningham was thinking.

"I haven't seen anything like this! What the hell's wrong with this girl's body?"

'Lizzy, you need to be committed! You may collapse at any minute!'

'No… Doctor, I'm alright… Please… Please, continue examining me…'

Gabe sighed.

'Will you pull through?'

'Y…yeah…'

'Alright. Lift up your clothing' the doctor put his stethoscope on as the girl pulled her shirt up.

Cunningham listened to Lizzy's heartbeat for a few seconds.

"Hmm…. now that's a strange heartbeat… first it's fast, and the next minute it falls below normal! I've never seen anything like it!"

Next, he listened to her breathing. It was slow.

'Roni!'

'Of course, doctor! New symptoms observed: Irregular heartbeat…"

'Well… I think this is it. I'll need a blood test too'

'What's… what's wrong with me, doctor?'

'I… have no idea. Has something happened a couple of days ago?'

'NO! Absolutely nothing, honest!'

'Are you absolutely sure?'

'Y-yes! Nothing!'

Gabe sighed.

This girl was lying to him.

'Listen, I can't help you if you hide information from me!'

'I'm not hiding anything!'

Cunningham looked at her from head to toe. And he noticed something else that was odd.

'What's with that bandage?'

'Oh… this? It's nothing… I cut myself'

'You cut yourself this high on your arm?'

'Yeah… I lost control of the knife while cutting a potato… I'm kind of clumsy…' she tried to smile.

'Listen, you have to tell me the truth if you want to get better!'

'But I am! I am telling you the truth!'

'No, you're not'

Lizzy and Cunningham both looked at the door, that was suddenly wide opened.

Naomi Kimishima was standing there, looking at them.

'This is a defensive wound. It would be near impossible to receive it by cutting yourself'

Gabe smiled.

'There it is, kid. A qualified medical examiner's opinion. Now do you mind showing me what's under the bandage?'

'Uhm… I…'

'You want to get better, right?'

'I… I don't…'

'Listen, if you truly want to get better, there should be no secrets between us! I'm a doctor, you can trust me anything!'

The girl looked around. Then, slowly and carefully, she took her bandage off.


	4. The Bite That Started It All

'That's… That's…'

'A bite mark. Definitely' Naomi examined the wound. 'Partially healed. I'd say it happened a few days ago'

'But… look at the skin around it! It's grey! Is that… necrosis?'

'No… that's… that's completely impossible! ' Naomi was shocked.

'Roni! Write that down, now!'

'Understood, doctor!'

'But… this bite… It's human!' Naomi looked carefully.

'It is? Are you sure? It looks human, but… can it be an ape?'

'No, it's definitely human!' the examiner looked at the patient. 'What happened back then?'

Lizzy looked down.

'I… I… Please promise you won't tell anyone!'

Gabe and Naomi looked at each other. Then, the diagnostician turned his head towards his young patient.

'I can not promise you that. But… I can promise you that I'll do anything in my power to help you!'

The girl's shaking increased. Her eyes filled with tears.

'It's… my mom…'

'Your mom?'

'Yeah… About two weeks ago, she came back home with headache… and she felt sick…'

'The same symptoms you had… Did she have a bite?'

'No, she didn't!'

'And how did she bite you, exactly?'

'Well… A week ago… She was so sick, she couldn't get up at all. I brought her something to eat, and then… Suddenly, she jumped from her bed and attacked me. She… she was like an animal!'

'Did she say anything?'

'No, she just… screamed. Like she wasn't human at all'

'Hmm…' Dr. Cunningham scratched his chin. 'This is indeed the same disease. Roni!'

'Yes, doctor! New symptom observed…'

'Lizzy! Where do you live?'

'Why…?'

'Because we'll go there and examine your mother too, alright?'

'Sure…'

The girl spoke their address, and Roni quickly wrote it down.

'Meanwhile, you're getting hospitalized! We can't risk your condition getting any worse!'

The girl thought for a few seconds, then nodded.

'Okay…'

'Great!' Gabe called out to a nurse outside.

'Just please… Please help my mom…'

'We'll try, kid. We'll try'


	5. Naomi Kimishima

'Thanks for the help in there' Gabe grinned. 'But what ARE you doing here exactly, Naomi?'

'I brought Alyssa for a check-up. I was hoping I could find the doctor that operated on her so he can look at how her wounds are healing up…'

Cunningham smoked the rest of his cigarette, then immediately put a new one in his mouth.

'Yeah, that kid's not here anymore. Rumor has it he's doing surgeries at Portland'

'Rumor?'

'Yeah… He's not exactly easy to keep contact with'

'I see…'

'Dr. Tachibana assisted with the surgery, though. Maybe she can help'

Gabe lit his cigarette up and started walking.

'Where are you going?'

'To that girl's mom'

Naomi sighed.

'So what do you think?'

'Well, I can't tell you what it is, but I can tell you what it's not – it's not like anything I've ever even heard of'

'Do you think an epidemic may start?'

'It's possible. But nothing's for certain until we meet that mother. Her condition appears to be worse'

'Do you think this disease is fatal?'

'It's very possible, yes. And apparently, it affects both the mind and the body' the diagnostician thought for a few moments. 'Just like Rosalia'

'Not quite… The Rosalia victims still kept their reasoning abilities. I could hardly call someone that would bite their own daughter a reasoning person'

'I see…'

'And there was one more detail that caught my attention'

'Yes, the fact that a bedridden woman suddenly jumped on her feet and attacked her daughter'

'Exactly. This is another reason to think that this is a disease not known to man. Getting up like that sounds completely impossible'

Naomi started thinking. She desperately tried to recall a similar case from her career as a surgeon, but failed.

'Gabe, let me come with you'

'Huh?'

'I can help you with the examination'

'Well… Naomi, it's not like I doubt your skills as an examiner, but… will you be alright?'

'What are you talking about? Of course I will be'

'What about Alyssa?'

'I'll leave her to Dr. Tachibana. We shouldn't be absent for long'

'I see… Well, if that's what you want, then I don't think I can stop you, even if I tried' Gabe grinned.

Naomi nodded and went to check on her daughter.


	6. Alyssa & Joshua

Alyssa went to Dr. Tachibana's office and sat on one of the many chairs in front of it.

Most of them were empty, with only two occupied.

On one, a man in his 40s was sitting, apparently waiting for a consultation.

On the other one, a small boy, about 10 years old, was sitting and looking at the floor.

The little girl smiled and went to him, then sat down on the chair to his right.

'Hi!' she greeted him.

'Uhm… hello' he shyly responded.

'I'm Alyssa! What's your name?'

'It's… Joshua'

'Nice to meet you! Why are you here?'

'Well… I had a surgery a month ago, and my mom said I should be examined…'

'Really? So did I! Were you sick?'

'Yeah, I was'

A few moments of silence.

'What about you?' Joshua finally spoke.

'Oh… I was hurt'

'I see…'

Alyssa looked around.

'Why are you alone here, Joshua? Aren't your mom and dad with you?'

'Uhm… No, my mom's at work…'

'What about your dad?'

'Well… I don't have a dad'

'You don't?' she jumped.

'No. He and my mom separated when I was very little'

'Oh… That's so sad'

'What about you, Alyssa? Where are your parents?'

'Oh! Well… I also never knew them'

'You never knew either of them?' Joshua opened his eyes wide.

'No. I spent most of my life in an orphanage'

'Aw… That's even sadder than simply not having a dad…'

'But it's okay!' the little girl laughed. 'Naomi adopted me! She takes great care of me!'

'Naomi…'

'Yeah! She's like a mom to me! She's so nice!'

'Oh… Uhm… I'm glad you're happy' Joshua smiled.

In this moment, the door opened, and the man (who had apparently entered Tomoe's office without the children noticing) left, followed by Dr. Tachibana herself.

'Joshua, come on in!' she looked at the boy and smiled.

'Well… I have to go now… Sorry'

'It's okay! Naomi will be here soon!' Alyssa laughed. 'Let's play together sometime!'

'Sure!'


	7. The Mother

'Hello? Anyone here?' Gabe knocked a few times on the door. 'It's about your daughter!'

No response followed.

'Ma'am! I'm a doctor, open up!' Dr. Cunningham waited for a few seconds. 'Damn it! Could she have left?'

'In her condition?' Naomi looked at him. 'I doubt it'

Gabe thought for a while.

'Say, is breaking in illegal under these circumstances?'

The woman sighed, then took a hairpin from her hair.

'If it's to save her life, then it's not' she said and kneeled, then inserted the pin into the lock. A few seconds later, they heard a click,

Naomi slowly turned the knob. It was unlocked. Gabe was so amazed he almost dropped his cigarette from his mouth.

'Wow… Why didn't you tell me you could do that?'

'A woman is allowed to have her little secrets, Gabe' she smiled. 'Let's go!'

The two doctors entered and started looking around.

'Hello? Ma'am, my name is Gabriel Cunningham! I'm a doctor from Resurgam!' Gabe yelled. Again, no response.

The apartment was medium sized – it consisted of three rooms and a toilet.

The first room they checked turned out to be the kitchen, which was completely empty.

The second was Lizzy's room, which also didn't have a soul in it.

Finally, the two stood in front of the last door – to the living room.

'She should be here…' Gabe chewed on his cigarette. 'You ready?'

'Of course'

Gabe slowly opened the door.

'Ma'am? Didn't you hear… Oh my God…'

The woman was standing in the middle of the room without moving a muscle, her hair and clothes a mess.

But what truly terrified the doctor was the blood (most likely Lizzy's) around her mouth.

'Are you alright?' Naomi asked.

The woman didn't respond.

Gabe approached.

'Ma'am, do you need any—'

'GABE WATCH OUT!' Naomi yelled.

At this moment, the mother jumped and attacked Gabe. He barely had time to protect himself.

The woman was holding him in her grip and was desperately trying to bite his neck.

'ARGH! WHAT THE HELL?' he yelled.

Naomi took her gun out and pointed it at the woman.

'Let him go! Let him go right now!'

The woman looked Naomi in the eye.

The medical examiner trembled.

"Those eyes… they look so… dead…" she thought.

The woman threw Gabe at Naomi, knocking them both out, then jumped through the window.

'Were you bit?' Naomi looked at Gabriel's neck.

'Nah, I'm alright. Not even a scratch, see?'

'Quickly! We've got to chase after her!' Naomi rushed to the door.

'Ouch… coming…' Gabe got up and went to the door.

The duo left the building and looked around.

The woman was nowhere to be found.

'Let's split up! Maybe we can-' Naomi's sentence was cut short by a scream down the street. 'Quick!'

The two started running as fast as possible towards the screams. They appeared so far away.

Along the way, they saw a crowd of frightened bystanders, two of which were bitten.

'I'll call Maria! You catch her!' Gabe said and took out his phone.

'Alright!' Naomi kept running, desperately trying to catch the woman.

And then, she heard a gunshot.


	8. Little Guy

'Dr. Kimishima! What are you doing here?' the blond man said and put his gun back in the holster.

'I could ask you the same, Little Guy'

'Believe it or not, I was just passing by'

'Yeah, well I don't believe it'

The FBI agent went to the woman.

'She's dead… but what the hell was wrong with her, anyway?'

'That's what we're trying to figure out'

'We?' Little Guy laughed. 'Don't tell me you're already replaced me as an assistant, Dr. Kimishima!'

'Don't be silly! This time, I was the assistant. My friend Gabriel Cunningham got this interesting case, and I decided to tag along'

'Ah, I see. So, what now?'

'Call your people. Let's have her transported. I'm going to examine her'

'Alright. And what about Dr. Cunningham?'

'I'm not going to bother him. He's looking after the injured now… and then has to tell some very bad news to one of his patients…'


	9. The First Wave

'MOVE IT, MORONS!' Maria yelled at the top of her lungs. 'What's the situation?'

'This guy went berserk! He bit six people, including Bob here' the police officer pointed at his partner.

'Here too? That's the third time today! People are going crazy all over the city!' the girl said and went to inspect Bob's wound.

'Urgh… I'm alright! Just a flesh wound! Go help the others!'

'Gimme your hand, you idiot!' Maria grabbed the officer's hand and quickly disinfected and bandaged it.

'Wow… you're quick…'

'Where are the others?'

'Right there!'

'God damn it!' she ran to the rest of the victims.

There were five of them, two men, two women and a small boy. The boy wasn't bitten, merely scratched, and his wound wasn't really that serious. Maria quickly bandaged him up and went to treat the others.

One of the bitten, a girl in her twenties, had collapsed. The other, about 35, was still conscious, but only barely.

'What… WHAT IS THIS?' the young doctor yelled as she inspected the unconscious girl's wound.

She was bitten on the neck.

'Is that… necrosis? That's completely impossible! When was she bitten?'

'A few minutes ago' one of the men answered.

'Are you sure she was bitten just a few minutes ago?'

'Yeah, absolutely… this lunatic ran by and started biting left and right… she was first'

Maria turned on her hands-free phone and quickly dialed a number, then started disinfecting the wound.

'Maria! What's going on?'

'Gabe, how long does it take for necrosis to start appearing?'

'Hmm… The shortest time I can think of is days… Like my patient from this morning. Why?'

'Because I've got necrosis on a victim bitten just a few minutes ago'

'WHAT? Completely impossible!'

'Yeah, that's what I thought! What should I do?'

Gabe bit his cigarette.

'Bandage it like normal and bring the patient to Resurgam. Where were they bitten?'

'It's a neck wound'

'What? So I guess it's bleeding heavily?'

'That's the thing – it's not! It's almost not bleeding!'

Dr. Cunningham kept silent.

'Gabe, what the hell is going on?'

'Wish I knew!'


	10. The Examination

'No visible wounds anywhere on the body…' Naomi noted. 'Internal organs intact… Eye discoloration present… No other abnormalities…'

Naomi sighed, then finished up her autopsy and returned to her office.

'Little Guy!' she spoke to her PC. 'Are you there?'

'Dr. Kimishima! What did the autopsy reveal?'

'Absolutely nothing. Other than some eye discoloration, she appears to be completely healthy'

'Eye discoloration, huh… Hey, could it be a disease that affects the brain?'

'I thought about that, but there's no way to tell that from an autopsy, is there?'

'Yeah, I suppose you're right'

'How's the situation outside?'

'The infection's quickly spreading from person to person. No casualties as of yet, but Resurgam's hands are full'

'I see. Our Jane Doe was Patient Zero, right?'

'Yeah, as far as we know'

Naomi turned to her PC and clicked an icon.

'Well, it seems that we can't do anything to help cure the disease, but at least we can find out where it came from, right?'

'I suppose so, yes'

The examiner thought for a second.

'Hey Little Guy… If I give you the victim's name, will you be able to tell me some more details about her, like workplace, for example?'

The agent smiled.

'I work for the FBI, remember? Just give me a name and I'll tell you everything I know'

'Alright. I'll call you right back'

'I'll be waiting, Dr. Kimishima!'

Naomi closed the connection and picked up her phone. Then, she punched in a number and put it next to her ear.

'Make it quick, damn it!' someone responded.

'Gabe?'

'Naomi! I kind of have my hands full at the moment!' Dr. Cunningham said as he finished up bandaging a patient.

'I did the autopsy on your patient's mother'

'And?'

'Nothing. Most likely a brain disease'

'Damn it! Any idea where it came from?'

'That's why I'm asking. What's your patient's name?'

Gabe finished treating yet another patient, then took a deep breath and answered.

'Lizzy Parker'

'Thanks'

'No prob. Now if you'll excuse me…'

'Gabe, one more thing!'

'Huh?'

'Did you tell her?'

The diagnostician sighed.

'Not yet. She's very ill. I don't think she's gonna bear it'

'You have to tell her sooner or later'

'Yeah, I know that… Aw crap, another neck wound! I really have to close, Naomi!'

With this, the doctor closed the phone.

Naomi turned back to her PC.

'Little Guy, you still here?'

'Of course. Do you have a name?'

'Try Lizzy Parker. Our victim is her mother'

'Alright, now let's see…'

A few seconds later, the blond man jumped.

'Yeah, I've got a match! I found her school records. Apparently, her mother's Jennifer Parker. She was Lizzy's only parent…'

'Poor girl… Life can be so cruel sometimes…'

'Guess so…'

'Can you tell me where Miss Parker worked?'

'Oh, just a second… Hmm, her last occupation appears to be… quality control at Umbrella Corporation'

'Umbrella? You mean the cosmetic company?'

'Sort of. My God… It all makes sense now…'

'Little Guy?'

'Of course! The FBI got numerous signals about Umbrella's black projects, but due to the lack of proof they couldn't do anything about it. Apparently, they were developing more than just cosmetics, but what exactly is a mystery'

'I see… So you think they might have created a new man-made virus?'

'Quite possible, yes'

'I see… And our quality controller got infected by accident…'

'Maybe'

'Hmm, there's gotta be more than this. I want to check out the crime scene'

'Sure, Dr. Kimishima, but under one condition'

'Condition? Since when do you set me conditions in order to leave my own office, Little Guy?'

'Listen, I'm serious! It's chaos outside! My condition is that you let me drive you there!'

'Oh, is that so? Not a chance, Little Guy. Don't you remember what happened last time I let you drive?'

'Grr… Well, at least I insist on assisting you during the investigation'

Naomi sighed.

'There's no way I can stop you, is there?'

Little Guy laughed.

'Nope! I'll be right there!'


	11. At The Scene

'Damn it… The entire city's going haywire!'

'And we can fix it by finding out exactly what's causing it' Naomi said and opened the already unlocked door.

She quickly ignored the empty rooms and went straight to the bedroom.

It wasn't a very pretty sight.

'Oh God… It looks like someone let a rabid monkey in here!'

'Yeah, something like that…' Naomi said and looked around.

'So, what are we looking for, Dr. Kimishima?'

'Anything suspicious. Check the drawers. It's possible there are some clues about Umbrella in there'

'Right away!'

Little Guy went to do his duties as Naomi looked around again.

And then, she noticed something she hadn't before.

An empty birdcage hung on the wall.

'Birdcage, huh…'

'Excuse me?'

She slowly went to it and looked at it.

Inside, on the bottom, lay a small bird. Dead.

Naomi opened the cage and took the bird.

'Hey, don't tell me you're going to examine a bird now!' Little Guy laughed.

'Actually, that's exactly what I was going to do' she said and moved its wings aside.

'Hey, Little Guy… Check this out'

'Huh?' the man said and went to her.

There was a huge scratch on the abdomen of the bird.

'What does this mean?'

'It means that our Jennifer Parker was hungry. She tried grabbing the bird, but only managed to scratch it. But she failed, as she never even figured that it was impossible through the bars… or that she could just open the cage. Which means…'

'Heavily reduced intelligence…' Little Guy noted.

'Exactly. And from what I saw earlier, I'd say the virus completely eliminates the higher brain functions, leaving only the primal ones… Like hunger'

'Yeah, that would make sense'

'But then, there must be some pathological changes… But we can't do anything about those right now'

And then, she noticed something else on the body.

'Wait a minute…' She said and looked at the bird's eyes. 'Little Guy…'

'Discoloration…'

'This bird was infected'

The man shivered.

'So then… Then the virus can infect both humans and animals! This is more serious than I thought!'

'Calm down, Little Guy. I have a theory that the virus is transmitted through the infected's saliva. Then how did this bird get infected with just a scratch?'

'Maybe… Maybe some saliva ended up on Jennifer Parker's nails…'

'Yes, that's not impossible, but the wound needs to be looked into…' she said and put the body inside a small see-through plastic envelope. 'There's nothing more I can learn from it right now'

'Alright. I'll go back to checking the drawers'

Naomi ignored the comment and looked at the bed once again.

And then, she noticed the blood.

She kneeled down to examine it.

There was some blood on the wall, but most of it was on the bed.

'Wait a minute… The position of the blood… Hey Little Guy, come again for a second'

'Huh? What is it, Dr. Kimishima?'

'Stand right here for a second'

Little Guy complied and climbed on the bed.

'Let's say you're our victim. That's where she was standing when I first saw her. And I was standing… right here' Naomi assumed the position. 'Now, attack me'

The man wondered for a few seconds, then lunged at the examiner. She dodged without effort.

'Even though I wasn't expecting you, the position I was in allowed me to dodge your attack completely. However… In order to recreate the blood splatter… Go back'

Little Guy sighed and moved back to his original position.

'In order to recreate the blood splatter… Attack me'

He lunged again.

'…I need to run INTO you and lift my hand'

'Huh?'

'Yes. That way the blood on the floor and wall will match. Now why would I want to do exactly the opposite of what anyone would do…' Naomi gasped. 'But of course!'

'What? What is it, Dr. Kimishima?'

'We're going back to Resurgam. The case is clear to me now'


	12. The Dead Shall Speak

'How is she, Gabe?' Naomi asked.

'She's… not well. She's fighting as we speak' Dr. Cunningham smoked some of his cigarette and looked at his patient. 'She's an extraordinarily strong girl'

'Yes… And a very brave one at that'

'Huh?'

'I think I know how both Lizzy and her mother were infected'

Gabe and Little Guy turned to the examiner.

'Her mother, Jennifer, was working at Umbrella as quality control. But Umbrella has a few little secrets, their so-called black projects'

'Black projects?'

'Yes. Apparently, they were developing other things besides cosmetics… and it's not impossible that they created a new pathogen there as well'

'If so, then how did it break out?' Gabe asked again.

'Accidents happen. Only one test tube broken by accident can result in a worldwide disaster. It's very possible that one such accident made Jennifer a host for the virus. She started getting sicker and sicker, worrying her daughter'

Little Guy looked down, suddenly realizing the situation.

'Jennifer was the only parent Lizzy ever had, so it's only natural she'd be protective of her. But even though the woman was sick, she refused to visit a doctor. Maybe she knew what she was infected with. But before anyone could do anything… it was already too late'

'Too late?' Gabe asked.

'Jennifer had turned into a mindless beast. She refused to listen to reason, or even feed. Lizzy got really worried. But then, she noticed that their family pet, a small bird, was showing the same symptoms as her mother. That's when she realized the disease was an infection that could be spread on other people'

'Wait…' Gabe yelled. 'Wait! Don't tell me—'

'Determined to help her mother, Lizzy entered her room one day and let herself be bitten by her, so that a cure can be found for her mother'

Dr. Cunningham almost lost his balance.

'God damn it, kid…' he looked at his sleeping patient through the glass window.

'Dr. Cunningham' Little Guy went to him. 'Is she gonna make it? Please, tell me honestly!'

Gabe sighed.

'No, most likely not. She's far too weak now. I don't think it'll be more than a day before she loses her mind. And after that, it'll be too late…'

'Damn it!' the man punched the wall. 'It's my fault! I… I shot her…'

'Don't blame yourself' Naomi intervened. 'There was nothing any of us could do'


	13. First Response At The End Of The World

'Dr. Torres! Over there!'

Maria looked at the direction pointed to her by the paramedic and gasped.

'Damn it, it's worse than I thought!'

A 20-cars pile-up was blocking the road.

'We managed to take some of them out, but most people are still inside!'

'Does anyone know what happened?' Maria asked as she started running towards the pile-up.

'The first driver's infected. My guess is he lost control over the car'

'Alright! Move it!'

The girl looked around.

The first car that grabbed her attention contained a family inside. She quickly went and used her tools to cut the door open. The children left, but their parents were still stuck.

The father was unconscious due to blunt force trauma to the head, but the mother was still moving, relatively unharmed.

Maria grabbed her box cutter and cut open the woman's belt, then carefully helped her out.

'Go to the other paramedics! I'll take care of your husband!'

'Thank you!' the woman responded and did as she was ordered.

Maria cracked open the man's door and dragged him out.

He wasn't breathing.

'Don't die on me, damn it!' she said and punched him a few times in the chest, after which she felt his pulse again.

He was alive.

'Hey, you!' she turned to one of the paramedics. 'Take care of this guy! I'm moving on!'

Without even listening to his response, the girl ran towards another car.

Her look was grabbed by a beautiful black car, almost completely destroyed by the crash.

The hood was pierced by a long pipe (most likely a road sign) and the driver was unconscious.

She broke his door open and looked at him.

He was a young man, with white skin and short hair, but his most distinctive feature was his black clothing and black sunglasses.

"Wow, the guy really likes this color, doesn't he" she said and started treating his wounds.

The road sign had pierced through his car and impaled his leg. Maria quickly cut it and dragged the man out.

'Hey, this guy needs to go to Resurgam! His wound's serious!' she yelled.

'Urgh…' the man grunted as he started to regain consciousness.

The paramedics put him on a cart and started pushing him towards an ambulance.

'Hah… What happened?'

'You're alright, sir, your car crashed' the paramedic notified him. 'Can you remember your name?'

'It's… Wesker… Albert Wesker…'


	14. Message of Regret

'Uhm…' the young girl woke up.

'Good morning, kid! How're you feeling?' Dr. Cunningham asked through the glass window.

'I… I've been better' Lizzy tried to smile. 'Where am I?'

'You're under quarantine. The same disease you have is spreading throughout the city. We can't risk an infection inside the hospital. Sorry'

'It's… it's alright. I understand' she tried to stand up. 'Doctor! What about my mom? She's okay, right?'

Gabe took his cigarette out of his mouth.

'Lizzy… There's something I need to tell you…'

The teenage girl didn't even need to hear the rest. She buried her face in her hands and started crying.

'Thanks to your mother, we were able to pinpoint where the virus came from. And… mainly thanks to you, too. I know it's not much, but… You two will contribute a lot for stopping this infection'

'I… I see…'

Gabe bit another cigarette.

'Doctor' the young girl looked at him. 'How much?'

'Hm?'

'How much do I have left?'

'Well, it's not cer—'

'I wouldn't have been under quarantine if you could help me. Don't lie to me, Doctor Cunningham, please!'

Gabe sighed.

He didn't want to inform a young patient about something like this, but he figured she was mature enough to bear it.

'It's just a speculation, but… I don't think you'll make it through the night. I'm sorry, Lizzy'

The girl closed her eyes and lied back down.

'Thank you… for being honest with me'

The diagnostician sighed and turned around to exit.

'Doctor!'

'Hm?' he looked back at his patient.

'Is there anything I can do to help stop this virus? Anything?'

Gabe smoked some of his cigarette.

'Just lie down and rest… and wait for a cure'


	15. Back At Resurgam

'What's the situation?' Adam asked.

'No bite marks, from what I can see… Pierced leg… This should be simple' Dr. Freebird said as he examined his patient.

'Alright! I'll be assisting you! Let's do it!'

'Are you sure you're up for this? I mean…'

'Don't worry' Adam smiled. 'This might've been one heck of a first day, but I can do it!'

'Alright then, let's begin…' Hank said and made the incision.

'Wow… Will it be alright to remove that?' Adam noted the piece of metal sticking from the bone.

'It should be alright. If we replace the missing fragment with a synthetic bone, it should heal up nicely…'

'But the sign has pierced through the leg's artery! There will be massive bleeding if we remove it!'

'That's why I need your help, Dr. Bertrand' Hank looked at his assistant. 'As soon as I remove it, I need you to cauterize the wound with the laser. Can you do it?'

'Yeah, sure'

'Alright… Cautiously extracting the metal…' Dr. Freebird said and cut it off. 'I'm going to pull it now, are you standing by with the laser?'

'Yeah,'

'Alright… Now!'

The orthopedist pulled the metal out, and Adam turned on the laser.

'Gah… There's so much blood!'

'Drain it!'

Adam quickly grabbed the drain and sucked out the blood, then cauterized the wound.

'The other end too!' Dr. Freebird noted.

'Where?'

'Right here!'

'DAMN IT!' Adam yelled and cauterized it.

'That was it. Proceeding on'

The young surgeon wiped the sweat off his forehead.

'I… I… I'm sorry, I panicked'

'It's alright. Happens to everyone. No damage was done, so don't worry about it. Prepare the synthetic bone!'

Adam sighed and took the bone out, then handed the laser to Dr. Freebird and watched as he quickly shaped it and inserted it in the hole.

After drilling in and securing the new bone, the surgery was almost over'

'Now, Dr. Bertrand, I need you to help me reconnect the artery we cauterized earlier. You're a brain surgeon, so this should be easy for you, right?'

'Yeah… Yeah, it is. I won't panic…' he said and picked up the scalpel, then made a clear incision and quickly connected the artery back to its original state.

'Very good! Great work, Dr. Bertrand'

'Yeah… Thanks…'

The two surgeons quickly finished up the operation and left. Just outside of the OR, they noticed a familiar face.

'Hank!'

'Maria! What's wro… Oh my God…'

'The bastard got to me! I didn't see him!' Dr. Torres said as she showed the bite mark on her arm.


	16. Alyssa & Joshua II

'Hmm, I wonder what's going on outside…' Alyssa said and tried to peak through a window, which unfortunately was too high for her to reach.

'I don't know… Looks big… My mom called me and told me to stay put until she can come and pick me up'

'Naomi said the same thing… I wonder what they're doing… Let's go see what's happening!'

'Uhm… I'm not sure we should…'

'Oh, come ooon!' the little girl asked. 'You want to see as much as I do, right?'

'Well, I… What if a doctor catches us?'

'We'll say we're lost!'

'Uhm… I don't think that's gonna work…'

'Oh, come on, please! I don't want to go there alone!'

Joshua thought for a few seconds.

'N-no… sorry…'

Alyssa frowned.

'You're no fun!'

And then, something caught her eye.

'Hey, look! What's that?'

'Huh?'

The girl went to the small leather bag colored in green and yellow, then opened it.

'Wow! It's full of tools!'

'Tools? You mean, like scalpels?'

'Hmm… No, there's no scalpel… But there's medicine! And bandages! And… other stuff…' she said as she took out a forceps.

'Do you think someone might have forgotten it?'

'Maybe…' Alyssa kept looking into the bag, and finally got an idea. She smiled devilishly and looked at her friend. 'Hey, let's go find the one who lost it and return it to them!'

'Huh? Are you sure we should do so?'

'Why not? Maybe someone needs it right now!'

'Well… then I guess it's alright…'

'Yay! Let's go!'


	17. The Path Of Honor

'Gah… Where… Where am I?' the man said as he woke up.

'Don't worry, Mr. Wesker. You're safe. I'm Dr. Tachibana. I'm looking after the injured in this sector'

'Injured…' he looked at his leg and saw the bandages. 'So I was injured… I don't remember…'

'Yes. Apparently, your car crashed on the highway. It was a pile-up'

'The highway…' and suddenly, Wesker remembered. 'The briefcase! Where is my briefcase?'

'All of your belongings should be somewhere in the hospital, Mr. Wesker. If you were holding this briefcase when you were found, then it's here'

'I need to see it. Now. Then I have to get out of here. Argh!'

'Don't push yourself, Mr. Wesker! Your leg's still healing! Not to mention, the hospital's under quarantine, and most likely the entire city will soon be cut off. No one but our paramedics are allowed out there'

'Quarantine… It can't be… What happened?'

'There was an outbreak of an unknown pathogen. We still don't know much about it'

Wesker sighed.

'I… I see… Thank you for notifying me'

'Is… something wrong, Mr. Wesker'

'No. Not at all. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to take some rest'

'As you wish' Tomoe smiled. 'Please, make sure to call me if you need anything. Our nurses are all busy, so…'

Albert didn't respond.

'Alright. I… I'll come check in on you later'

With this, Dr. Tachibana closed the door.

Wesker got up and removed his bandages, then quickly got dressed.

Despite the severity of his wound, he didn't show any sign of pain or discomfort.

"Damn it! DAMN IT!" he yelled in his mind as he started looking for a way out.


	18. Gonna Be Here

'Damn it, you morons! Do you just expect me to sit here and do nothing? It's not like I'm feeling sick or anything! Just wait till I get out of here, you hear?' Maria yelled through the glass. 'I'm going to kill every single one of you! Why did you even lock me up? And… And why did you take my shoes? It's cold in here, you know! Goddammit!'

Maria heard a very quiet giggling.

'Huh?' she turned around.

All the other beds in the quarantine bay were empty… Except one.

'Oh… Sorry, I didn't know there was anyone else here'

'It's… alright…' the girl smiled. 'No offense… but you were kind of funny'

'Oh yeah? Just wait till I get out! These jackasses won't be laughing!' Maria grinned. 'What's your name?'

'Oh… It's Lizzy. Lizzy Parker'

'Maria Torres' the paramedic introduced herself. 'So, uhm… How are you feeling'

Lizzy smiled.

'I… don't feel anything right now… Except tiredness… I'm barely keeping my eyes open'

'When were you bitten?'

'A… A few days ago…'

'Wait… The disease takes only that much to… No…' Maria shivered.

'It's alright. I know' the teenager smiled again. 'The doctor told me already'

'You mean Gabe? That bastard! I'll rip his heart out for this!'

'No… I asked him myself… I'm grateful that he told me'

Maria looked down, then at the girl again.

'Aren't you scared? I mean… I was bitten about half an hour ago, and I'm freaking out!'

'Not really… There's nothing left for me to live for…'

Maria suddenly turned serious.

'Don't say that! You're so young! You have your whole life ahead of you! You must not lose hope!'

Lizzy looked at the doctor.

'I have nothing now… Not even hope… Nothing…'

'Don't say that! You have me, don't you? I'm here for you!'

The teenager smiled once more, but for some reason this smile seemed far more sincere to Maria than her previous ones.

'Thank you'

'Of course!' Maria grinned.

'Gah…' Lizzy grabbed her chest.

'Hey, what's wrong?'

'It… it hurts…'

'Hey! HEY! Anyone out there?' Maria yelled.

'No… I'm alright… Please, don't call anyone…'

Dr. Torres sighed and looked at the girl.

'Does it hurt often?'

'Yeah… Every half an hour… It goes on for a few minutes…'

'Can I do anything to help?'

'Y-yeah…' Lizzy made a faint attempt to smile. 'Talk to me… Just… tell me something… about yourself… Argh…'

'Well, alright, let's see… Uhm… I grew up in an orphanage, and I've been wanting to be a paramedic ever since I turned 14. It's actually a cool story…'

The teenage girl listened to her new friend talk and suddenly felt a lot better.

"Thank you, Maria" she thought. "I truly feel better when you're here for me"


	19. BackUp

'Hank! They're breaking in!' Gabe yelled as he desperately held the emergency exit of the hospital.

'What! I thought this door could only open from the inside!'

'Yeah, they're not really trying to open it! Give me a hand!'

Dr. Freebird went to his friend and helped him hold the door down.

'Gah! How come they're so strong?'

'When you take away a person's mind, all they have left is their strength' Hank noted.

'There must be dozens of them outside! Hold on!'

'Gabe! The other exit!'

The diagnostician turned around and noticed the opposite emergency exit being pushed by the infected.

'Can you handle this one?'

'Sure'

Dr. Cunningham let go and went to the other exit, then started pushing as hard as he could.

'Gah! They're stronger here! Is there anything we can use to barricade the doors?'

'I don't think so. The emergency doors are specifically designed so that they can't be barricaded'

'Just great… Argh! I can't hold on much longer!'

And then, one push was all it took to send Gabriel flying across the room.

And to let the infected in.

About a dozen people entered at the same time and started running towards the two doctors.

'Damn it! Hank!' Dr. Cunningham yelled as he kicked one of the infected in the groin.

Dr. Freebird let his door go and ran to help his friend. A few more people entered through it.

Before anyone could realize, there were about 20 infected people in the hospital.

'Damn it! DAMN IT! What now?'

'Let's push them out!'

'How? If we get close to them they'll bite us!'

'We must do it! We can't allow them to enter the main lobby of the hospital!'

'But how? There's gotta be a way, right?'

Almost as a response to this, two darts flew past the doctors and hit two infected people in the head. One of them collapsed immediately, the other kept moving, but felt dizzy. One more dart, however, sent him straight to Dreamland.

'What the— Kid!' Gabe laughed.

CR-S01 was standing in the hallway and reloading his gun.

'Run. I can take them'

'How'd you learn to shoot so accurately?' the diagnostician asked.

'A perk of the profession' the young man responded as he shot a few more darts.

'Wow… You have one hell of a profession then, kid!'

Although a few infected managed to run past him, CR-S01 managed to take down most of them.

'Help me transport them back outside!'

'And then what? The tranquilizer will keep them asleep for a few hours, after which they'll enter again!'

'We're gonna seal the doors'

'Hmm… Naturally…'

'By the way, sorry for asking, but…' Hank said. 'What are you doing here?'

'I was transported with a helicopter to help you out. This hospital's understaffed, there's no way you can handle this outbreak by yourselves'

'Alright, enough chit-chat! A few of them escaped inside. Let's drug them and take them outside!'


	20. Unknown Salvation

'HAYA!' Tomoe yelled as she jumped and kicked one of the infected. He fell back, but promptly got up.

The girl took her breath.

"Hanzo… Where are you… I can't hold on much longer" she thought as she prepared for another attack.

Out of the five infected that had attacked her, only three were still standing. But due to their enhanced durability, they were a hard target to take down, and Tomoe was getting tired.

And she was only a step away from being torn apart by the beasts.

'Ha… HAYA!' she did another jump kick, but missed.

Instead, she hit the wall and fell on the ground.

In just a matter of seconds, the infected were already ganging up on her.

Tomoe trembled.

She felt her death is near.

"It is against the path of honor to beg for your life if you were bested in combat" she reminded herself as she closed her eyes, preparing to be devoured.

And that's when she heard the infected's scream.

She opened her eyes.

Someone was holding him by the neck and pulling him away from Tomoe.

With one swift move, the unknown person broke the infected's neck and threw the body away.

Tomoe gasped.

'Mr. Wesker…'

Wesker kicked another infected and sent him flying towards a wall, knocking him out.

The last of the three got a hold of the man and tried to bite him, but he skillfully evaded it and kicked his attacker twice in the groin with his knee, then threw him on the ground.

Wesker looked at all the infected lying, and after he made sure they'd stay down offered his hand to Tomoe, who gently accepted it.

'Are you alright, Dr. Tachibana?'

'Yeah, I'm fine… Mr. Wesker, how did you do that? You weren't supposed to even be able to move with this type of wound!'

'Let's just say I'm a tough dog'

'What are you doing out of your bed?'

'I'm looking for my briefcase'

'Oh… Well, if it was brought in, then it's most likely at the receptionist. We can go there together if you want. Watch each other's backs' the girl smiled.

Wesker thought for a few seconds, then started walking.

'I can watch my own back'

'It is against the path of honor to refuse a friend's kindness!'

The man stopped, then slowly turned his head around.

'Dr. Tachibana… I strayed from the path of honor a long time ago…' was the only thing he said before leaving.


	21. We All Have Secrets

Adam quickly entered the office and locked it.

The infected person that was chasing him tried to knock the door down, but soon lost interest and continued upon its way.

'Oh God… What did I bring myself into… Professor Sartre…'

'Mister?'

The man turned around.

The room he'd locked himself into was a patient's room.

On the bed lay a 13 year old boy dressed in a hospital gown.

'Oh… Sorry… Thought I was alone'

'It's alright' the boy smiled. 'What's going on outside?'

'It's… It's chaos… They're breaking into the hospital now, too…'

'Oh… I see…'

'Where are your parents, kid? Why are you alone?'

'Oh, they're not here! They don't live in America. I'm Italian!' he smiled.

'Really? What're you here for?'

'I'm waiting for a heart transplant. My parents couldn't afford to come with me here'

'Is that so…'

'Doctor, I haven't seen you before' the boy said. 'Are you new?'

'Yeah… My first day. Funny, isn't it?'

'Yeah, a little bit' the boy smiled and read Adam's nametag. 'My name is Marco! Nice to meet you, Dr. Bertrand!'

'Please, don't call me that! I'm Adam' the man smiled back.

'Well, alright…

In this moment, the electricity stopped.

'Oh, great… Now we can't even see what's going on!'

'Uuuhm… Adam… I think I'm in trouble…' Marco said.

'Huh?' the doctor turned around and gasped.

It was then that he noticed the now offline heart-lung machine strapped to the boy's chest.

'OH CRAP!' he panicked. 'Now what?'

'Uuuuhm… I was hoping you'd tell me… You're the doctor!'

Adam started breathing heavily.

'Alright… Alright, just… Just stay calm… I'll… I'll think of something!'

He looked through the window.

The infected was still nearby, so opening the door and yelling for help was not an option.

'Adam… I feel weak…'

'Damn it, why won't the electricity turn on! Don't lose consciousness, Marco! Whatever you do, stay awake!'

'Gah… Sorry… I can't…' the boy said and closed his eyes.

'Damn it! DAMN IT! NOW WHAT! What am I supposed to do?'

The electricity wasn't turning on.

'Professor… What would you do in a situation like this?'

Adam took a deep breath, then went to Marco and took the sheet covering him away.

After that, he put his hand on his chest and started massaging it.

'Damn it! This won't be enough!'

He kept pushing Marco's chest, but the boy was still unconscious.

'Damn it… Damn it… Damn it…'


	22. Umbrella

'Hey, Little Guy! Any new info?'

'Not yet. My colleagues are investigating it as we speak'

Naomi looked around.

'Tell me, Little Guy… Let's say Umbrella developed a virus that completely wipes out the higher brain functions… Why would they release it here?'

'Hmm…' the man thought. 'Maybe as a test?'

'Right here in the city? I don't think so'

'Then maybe as a warning? Or a demonstration?'

'To who? And again, why in the city? Think, Little Guy! There's a very simple explanation for all of this!'

The agent sat on a chair and started thinking.

Suddenly, it came to him.

'An accident…'

'Of course! Why else would the virus break out in the same city as one of their laboratories?'

'But I thought laboratories like that were secure! Can such a big accident happen that an outbreak can emerge?'

'No'

'Huh?'

'It can't'

'You think it was planned? But I thought—'

'A planned accident, yes'

Little Guy sighed.

'But of course… Why didn't I think of that… It's so simple…'

'Indeed. It was an attempt to steal the virus gone wrong'

'Yeah. When I was working at Delphi, something similar happened. One of our scientists tried to steal GUILT. We found him three days later, with his entire lung chopped up by Kiryaki'

'I think a similar situation has happened here, Little Guy. I noticed something odd when I was doing Jennifer Parker's autopsy'

'Wait… Don't tell me – no bite marks?'

'Not a scratch on her entire body'

'Then how was she contaminated? The only way we're aware of is by injecting infected saliva under the skin! Then what… oh…'

'Exactly, Little Guy. You're quick today, aren't you?'

The man blushed a little.

'Yes, my theory is that there were originally two culprits, one of which being our innocent Jennifer Parker, and the other – unknown as of now. They were planning to steal the virus from Umbrella and sell it for unbelievably large amounts of cash… or maybe even use it to create a second Delphi, who knows' Naomi continued. 'But our John Doe wanted to make sure he got the real deal, so he tested it. A tiny prick. That's all that was needed to end Jennifer's life'

'I see… I was left with the impression the injection she got was intravenous'

'No, I'm not exactly sure what the effect would be if the virus entered the bloodstream directly, but… For now, we can assume the injection was done under the skin, and in such a way that she wouldn't notice'

'I see. But wait a second! How did someone responsible for quality control get access to a next-gen virus?'

'Oh, you're so naïve. She was most likely a scientist there. If you check her history, she most likely has a good degree in chemistry or biology'

'Oh… But of course! Now it all makes sense! But… You know what that means, right?'

'Yeah… The real culprit for unleashing the virus is still out there…'


	23. The Strength Within

'Damn it, Marco, breathe! Breathe!' Adam said as he was desperately massaging the boy's chest, but to no avail.

Soon, the emergency generator turned on.

Adam turned the heart-lung machine back on, but to no avail – Marco's heartbeat was still gone.

'No! I'm… I'm too late… I'm too late… _I'm too late…'_

'_It's never too late, child'_

'_Yeah, easy for you to say! You weren't the one with your first patient dying in front of you!' the boy said and wiped his tears away. _

'_It wasn't too late to save him, Adam. Even after you made that mistake, you still could have saved him. Only your own feelings stood between you and his life'_

'_Professor Sartre… I've always wanted to be a doctor! I've always wanted to save lives! And now… It turns out I'm too weak for that? Then what's the point of my life? I've lost my purpose!' _

_The man smiled. _

'_You can still save lives, Adam. I saw it, in your eyes… Before you lost control. You can be a great surgeon if you put your fear away. You must not fear that you won't save the patient. You must be happy that you will'_

'_Professor… I don't understand…'_

'_Some day you will. And then, you will be ready to become a real surgeon'_

'Heh… But of course…' Adam laughed. 'I almost forgot why I'm here at all… Why I'm doing this… Professor Sartre… I think I misunderstood your words… But I see now!'

He turned to the unconscious boy.

'Hey, Marco, guess what! I'm going to save you! And no one is stopping me! Let's begin the operation!'

Adam quickly looked under the bed and took out the emergency surgery kit that was usually put there for situations just like this one. Not many rooms had it, but the man thanked all gods when he managed to feel it.

'Wow, they even have a defibrillator here… Clever devils' he said as he turned the device on. He heated it up and pressed against Marco's chest.

Unfortunately, he was still flatlining.

'Come on, I know I'm not too late, COME ON!' he said and increased the voltage, then tried again.

*beep*

*beep*

'YES! That's what I'm talking about!' he said and sterilized the boy's chest, then used the scalpel to cut it open.

It wasn't easy to operate in these conditions, but there was no other way, as going outside before all infected were taken down would be suicide.

Not to mention, Adam found it alright, since there were rubber gloves and antibacterial soap inside the surgery pack.

'Hmm… Wait a second…' Adam said as he noticed the swollen heart. 'But of course! I may not be able to eliminate the need for a transplant, but I'll buy him some time!' he said and made a cut.

The man drained the liquid that immediately poured out, and then sew the wound.

'Of course… Blood blocking your heart's blood vessels… Why didn't I figure it out earlier' he said and made another cut.

Since there was no ultrasound in the kit, Adam was forced to feel around the child's heart in order to find where the vessels were blocked exactly, as cutting even an inch away from the precise spot would cause severe hemorrhaging.

After about three or four cuts, the man took a deep breath.

'Man, that's hard…' he exclaimed and touched the heart all around, but couldn't find any other blockings.

'Ha… I did it? I DID IT!' he laughed, then quickly closed the wound and bandaged it. 'HA-HA! You owe me one, Marco…'

Adam smiled.

'Or rather… I owe YOU…'


	24. True Test of Skills

'Argh!' the man yelled.

'AAAA! What is that thing?' Alyssa pointed.

'I don't know! We better get out of here!'

'No! We have to help him!'

Joshua shivered.

An infected person was desperately trying to bite a male nurse's neck.

The man already had a few wounds, including a very deep cut on his arm that was bleeding severely.

Joshua looked around. He saw a brand new can of Coke standing on a table. He picked it up and threw it at the infected's head.

The metal can proved too heavy for the infected's forehead. With a roar, he fell back and landed on the ground, then stayed there.

Alyssa went to the nurse.

'Hey, are you alright?'

'Uh…'

The little girl put the leather bag next to her and opened it.

'Hey… Hey! What are you doing? We have to go!'

'Uh-huh! Naomi taught me how to perform first aid! He needs help!'

'But…'

Alyssa smiled. She'd always wanted to say those words.

'Joshua… will you assist me with this operation?'

The boy thought for a few seconds.

'Uhm… Alright… But be quick, okay?'

'I'll try! Come!'

Alyssa took out a tourniquet and tied it tightly against the nurse's hand. Then, she wiped off the blood and cleaned the wound with some antibiotic gel.

'Wow… You really know what you're doing, don't you…'

'Yeah! Naomi's the best surgeon ever!' Alyssa smiled and bandaged the wound, then turned to the leg.

'Hmm… There are so many wounds here! I'll need time!'

'Alright! What can I get you?'

'Uuuuhm… The bandages!'

Joshua handed them to her.

And then, he saw something terrifying.

The infected got up.

'Alyssa!'

The little girl screamed.

'Let's run!'

'No! I can't leave him like this!'

'But… but that guy's gonna kill us!'

'I know, but… But…'

'Hurry up!'

Alyssa panicked. She tried to work as fast as she could, but that wasn't enough.

'HURRY!'

'AAAARGH!'

Suddenly, the infected stopped running towards them. In fact, he started moving very slowly.

Joshua barely moved at all.

But Alyssa had kept her speed.

'Wha… What's going on?' she asked, but couldn't hear any response, as if Joshua hadn't heard her at all.

Determined, Alyssa bandaged the nurse's wounds as fast as she could.

Just as she finished up, time returned to normal.

And the infected was almost near them.

'Alyssa!'

'Joshua!'

Suddenly, a dart hit the infected on the head. Still weak from his close encounter with the can of cola, he fell down without much trouble.

'Alyssa! How did you move so fast?' Joshua asked.

'I… I…'

'Oh my God… Alyssa!' Naomi looked at her, with worry in her eyes.

Hank, Gabe and CR-S01 were looking at her with their mouths open.

Little Guy gasped.

'Was this… Was this just now…'

'Hey, can anyone explain to me why this little girl has the Healing Touch?' they heard a voice behind them.

'You!' Gabe almost dropped his cigarette when he saw their new guest.


	25. The Inevitable

'How're you feeling, Lizzy?' Maria asked.

'Heh… I'm tired… So tired…'

The paramedic looked at her friend's eyes.

They were discolored.

'Oh… Is that so… Sorry if I bored you with my life story, but…' she made an attempt to laugh.

'Not at all… Thank you… So much… For being with me now… It means a lot…'

'Hey, no problem! That's what friends are for… right?' Maria shivered.

Suddenly, the whole weight of the situation hit her.

And a small tear fell down from the corner of her eye, which she casually cleaned and smiled again.

'Hey, Lizzy… I really want to hear your story too, you know…'

'Hehe… I'm sorry… Maybe… Some other time, right?'

'Yeah… Some other time…'

'God… I feel so tired… Is that what it's like to… To… die?'

Maria kept silent, as she felt that if she tried to say absolutely anything, she'd burst into tears.

'Gah… It's so… So lonely… Maria…'

'I'm here' she grabbed Lizzy's hand. "I'm here. For you'

'Yeah… Here… For me… So nice…' the girl smiled, then slowly closed her eyes.

Maria was shaking.

She was desperately trying not to cry.

'Damn it… Damn it…' was the only thing she could utter before tears took over.

And she decided there was no longer a reason to hold them back.

After all, even though her body remained alive, Lizzy was gone.


	26. An Unexpected Reunion

'Who're you supposed to be?' Little Guy asked their newest guest.

'I'm Derek Stiles, and this is my assistant Angie Thompson. We're from Caduceus'

'Caduceus?' Little Guy shivered.

'Nice to see you again, Derek' Naomi smiled. 'Those glasses were making you more charming, by the way'

'Oh, you think?' Derek smiled. 'Angie recommended contacts'

'Reduces the chance of an… incident, during a surgery' Angie smiled.

'So, my question still stands' Derek interrupted. 'How does she possess the Healing Touch?'

'Naomi… Did I do something bad?' Alyssa asked.

'No! Not at all!' the examiner smiled. 'In fact, I think you did a magnificent job! I'm so proud of you, Alyssa!'

'Joshua assisted me!' the little girl smiled.

Gabe laughed.

'Is that so…' he said. "Guess the pear doesn't fall away from the tree"

'Oh! Doctor! I didn't see you here!' Joshua jumped.

'Yeah, well, I'm here'

'Well, guess we now know what little Alyssa will become when she grows up' Hank smiled.

'Wait… the Healing Touch… I've heard of it before, but I didn't think it actually existed!' CR-S01 looked around.

'Oh, it exists!' Angie smiled. 'In fact, three people in this very room possess it'

'Three?' Hank turned around. 'One is Alyssa, I'm guessing the second one is Dr. Stiles here, and the third one is…'

'Let's just say there's a reason I'm not operating anymore, Dr. Freebird' Naomi noted.

'Heh. Don't we all?' the diagnostician smiled. 'Come on, let's go to the conference room. Hank, help me take this guy to the patient's rooms…'

'Wait! Dr. Cunningham! I need help!' they all heard a voice.

Gabe turned around.

In front of him was Adam, covered in blood.

'Adam! What happened?'

'I… I had to operate…'

'What?'

'It's okay, the patient's stable now' the man smiled. 'But he needs to be transported!'

'Angie, let's go check on the patient!'

'Alright!' the girl smiled.

'Thank you! He's in room 204, just downstairs!'

The two doctors nodded and went.

'And who's he?' CR-S01 asked.

'Oh… I guess you guys don't know him' Gabe grinned. 'He's our newest addition, Adam Bertrand, famous neurologist'

'No kidding?' Naomi asked. 'You look much better than I last saw you, Dr. Bertrand'

'Huh? I do?'

'Yes. In fact, I almost couldn't tell you're 53 years old. What do you use?'

Everyone looked at Naomi, then back at Adam.

'Dr. Bertrand… What is she saying?' Hank asked.

'It's simple' Naomi explained. 'This guy right here is not Dr. Bertrand'


	27. Small Talk

Dr. Tachibana checked through the second floor patients again to see if everyone was alright, then took the stairs to the first one.

It wasn't easy to look after so many patients at once, but for Tomoe, it wasn't a big problem.

She checked all of the patients, then climbed back on the second floor.

And that's where she noticed someone in the distance she didn't recognize.

'Excuse me!' she said.

The person turned around.

'Hello!' the blonde girl said gently. 'I'm Angie Thompson, from Caduceus'

'Caduceus?' Tomoe smiled. 'That's great! Any help we can get is welcome!'

'Yeah!' Angie smiled.

'How many people did Caduceus send?'

'Oh, just me and Dr. Stiles. He's in the room now, checking up a patient. But don't worry, he's one of the best surgeons out there!'

'Great!' Tomoe laughed. 'I'm glad we have people like you here! I… have no clue what we're going to do about this outbreak…'

'Oh, don't worry! Caduceus are already working on a vaccine!'

'That's certainly good news, but what about a cure? Hundreds of people are sick already!'

'Well…' Angie bit her lip. 'From what a colleague at Caduceus told me, a cure will probably be found too, but as the virus shuts down the higher brain functions, it slowly causes them to die. So if the victim was infected within 24 hours, then treatment is most likely possible, with only a few side effects'

Tomoe smiled.

'When will this cure be ready?'

'We're expecting it every minute now… In fact, we were sent here to… feel the soil, so to speak, and prepare the hospital for its arrival. The boxes should arrive by plane soon!'

'Oh, that reminds me! Will you please come with me to the receptionist? A patient here's looking for his briefcase, and I thought maybe it's there'

'Hmm… I think I saw a metal briefcase in one of the patient's rooms just down the hall'

'The pediatric ward is definitely a strange place for a briefcase like that. Can you please show me the room?'

'Sure, I'll—'

At this moment, Dr. Stiles left the room.

'The patient's stable. I examined him, and the doctor did quite a good job. True, a little bit messy, but certainly good, given the conditions he was working in'

Tomoe looked with confusion.

'I'll explain later' Angie smiled. 'Come on!'

Together, the three of them went inside the room pointed out by the assistant. Tomoe sneaked in and noticed the sleeping patient, a 7 year old girl called Anna Wilkes.

Dr. Tachibana picked up the briefcase and read the initials "A.W." on them, and suddenly realized how the confusion had happened.

'Yes, I'd say this is the briefcase' Tomoe smiled as she left the room.

'How can you be sure? Did you check what's inside?'

'It is against the path of honor to view someone else's private possessions without a good reason. Now, let's find Mr. Wesker and give it back!'


	28. Stolen

'I… I…' the man started shaking.

'Adam… Is there something we need to know?' Gabe bit his cigarette.

'I…' Adam took a deep breath.

He was caught.

'I'm not Dr. Bertrand… I'm sorry…'

Gabe frowned.

'Identity theft is a serious crime. Even more serious when lives are at stake! Do you realize what you could've done?'

Adam kept silent. He didn't have the will to lift his look from the floor.

'Come on. We'll put you in the kid's old cell and hand you to the authorities once this is all over'

Hank went behind Adam.

'Let's go'

The young man didn't know what to do. Everyone was looking at him as if he was some kind of criminal.

Because he was.

He deserved it.

Even the children that were standing nearby were confused.

And then, he noticed one single look that wasn't negative.

'Wait a minute… I know you! I've seen you before!' Adam said.

CR-S01 didn't respond.

'You boys go. I'll go bring the children somewhere safe' Naomi said, and everyone agreed.

'I'll go to the fourth floor and see how the barricades are holding up' CR-S01 noted and went upstairs.

With that said, Gabe, Hank and Little Guy started leading Adam to his cell.


	29. The Briefcase

'Miss Tomoe!' Naomi smiled. 'Where have you been?'

'I was looking after the patients of the first two floors!'

'And what's this?' the examiner pointed at the briefcase.

'Oh, that? A patient wanted it. He was looking for it all over the hospital'

'Was he… Kind of an odd thing to do given the current circumstances, don't you think?'

'Well… I guess… Maybe it's valuable for him'

'Indeed, that's the only reason'

Tomoe got a strange feeling. She didn't understand why Dr. Kimishima was suddenly analyzing the situation.

'Miss Tomoe… May I see this briefcase?'

'Hmm… Well, I don't see why not' Dr. Tachibana handed the briefcase to her friend. 'Is there a problem?'

'Maybe there is… Hmm… It's got a lock on it. Why would an ordinary briefcase have a lock on it?'

'Important documents, maybe?'

'He was searching for documents when the world's about to end? Give me a break! But… whatever's inside must definitely be important…'

Dr. Tachibana gasped.

'Naomi, are you implying you have to—'

'Yes, I want to open it'

'What are you suspecting might be inside?'

Naomi thought for a few seconds.

'I don't want to make conclusions, but I think I have a very good idea about what's inside… Miss Tomoe, can you give me permission to unlock it?'

Dr. Tachibana rolled her eyes, thinking. And then, she nodded.

'Alright… It's a five digit number, but…' Naomi rotated the rings until she heard a click. 'Just as I thought. Old fashioned lock. Whoever put it there didn't have much time to find a suitable lock… This should be easy…'

After four more clicks, the briefcase was unlocked.

'Great! Now, let's take a peak inside… Oh my God!'

'What is it? Naomi, what is it?' Tomoe asked.

'So I was right… I didn't expect he'd be at this hospital right now, but… Apparently, my lucky star is up today!'

'What's in…'Dr. Tachibana froze.

Inside were three vials of an unknown chemical filling out three of the four spots for them in the briefcase'

'Is that… The virus?'

'That's right. My speculation was true. This whole outbreak really is an attempt to steal the virus gone wrong…'

'And what about the missing vial?'

'I'm guessing he used it to infect our Patient Zero… Quickly, we need to catch this man! Who is he?' Naomi took out her phone.

'His name is Albert Wesker. I don't know where he is right now, but he's definitely in the hospital! We're under quarantine, so there's no way he could've went out!'


	30. The Man Who Had Lost Everything

'Mr. Wesker!' Tomoe yelled.

Wesker got up from the couch in the hallway on the 4th floor.

'Dr. Tachibana… I'm glad to see you're okay. I went to the recep…'

In this moment, he noticed the suitcase Naomi was holding.

'Oh… So you found it'

'Yes, and we opened it' Dr. Kimishima stated. 'Now, we'd like you to come with us. Peacefully, if possible'

'And what if I refuse?'

Tomoe took her stance.

'Then I'll make you!'

Wesker did the same.

'I doubt your skills are enough to defeat a S.T.A.R.S. leader, Dr. Tachibana'

Tomoe didn't move a muscle.

'I do not wish to fight you, Mr. Wesker. Please… I beg of you, come with us quietly! We've all had enough of the violence around us… Please, let's not cause any more!'

Wesker smiled.

'Dr. Tachibana… I'm a man who's lived his whole life in violence. What happens around can't bother a heartless man like me

It was then that Tomoe felt something. She felt the man in front of her was lying, even though his eyes were covered by his sunglasses.

'You know that's not true, Mr. Wesker! You do have a heart! You saved my life!'

'Don't get any wrong ideas. I only did it to repay for your kindness'

'Is that really the truth?'

'Yes. What else could it be?'

'Maybe… Maybe it was your very heart that told you to save me'

'Is that so...' he laughed.

'What's so funny?' Naomi angrily asked.

'Heh… You know… I really have no reason to fight you…'

'Huh?'

'I've… lost everything. I… I betrayed my teammates to get this virus. I unleashed it by accident, and I lost the only concentrated sample… Now I have no more reason to resist'

Naomi took out her handcuffs and slowly went to Wesker, then cuffed him.

'That's not true, Mr. Wesker!'

'Hm?'

'You haven't lost everything! True, you may have broken the way of honor in the past… But the fact that you're willing to pay the price means that the sense of honor is strong with you!'

'Is that so…'

'And also… You have…' Tomoe smiled. 'You have me, Mr. Wesker! I believe in you!'

Wesker smiled back.

'You shouldn't'


	31. Cellmates

'Wow… I wasn't expecting a cellmate… Who're you?'

Wesker sighed.

'Great… Just great…'

'Nice to meet you, Mr. Great! I'm Adam!'

Wesker frowned.

'I'd appreciate if you'd stop making fun of me'

'Alright, alright…'

Albert looked down.

'Hey, why are you so depressed?'

'Aren't you?'

'I was at first, but… I gave some thought about my whole situation, and… Hell, I may be going to prison, but at least I managed to save a life before that! That's enough of a reward for me!'

'Is that so…'

Adam nodded.

'So, what's your real name, cellmate?'

The man sighed.

'Wesker'

'I'm Adam. So… Why're you here?'

Albert frowned again.

'I caused the end of the world'

'Ouch… Harsh… I'm here for impersonating a doctor'

'Why would you do that?'

'Heh' Adam laughed. 'It's a long story, but… Have you ever felt like you've always wanted to be something, but your dreams are all ruined by one wrong decision you made?'

A few moments of silence.

'Yeah… I have…'

'Same here. I've always wanted to be a doctor. I studies as hard as I could! I even took a few years of high school for one! Finished medical school in less than 3 years! And then… I panicked on my first solo surgery, and my patient died because of me'

'That's… unfortunate'

'Wow, understatement of the year!' Adam laughed. 'I got my medical license revoked, as I was dubbed "Too dangerous to operate". After all, I did have a 100% fatality rate… So I got determined. I wanted to save lives. And one night, my luck struck me. I happened to find this old guy in an alley. He was all torn up – knife wounds, bullet holes, etc. His cash and cards were stolen, as was his jewelry'

'Yeah… dangerous streets…'

'Yeah… Tried to save him, but couldn't. But then… he saw my passion. He saw that even though I was panicked, I… I desperately wanted to save his life'

'Didn't you call an ambulance?'

'I did, but it wouldn't come, for some reason! He… He knew he wouldn't make it. Asked me to stop the procedure and tell him about myself. I… briefly explained what I told you. And it turned out we had a lot in common. We were both called Adam, and were neurologists, except he was some kind of big shot, and I… had failed my first surgery. With his last breath, he told me to take the keys to his house and his ID. He had no kids, and… He wanted me to continue his legacy'

'So you became him?'

'Yeah. I've got a friend that's a great forger, so I made myself a brand new ID card…'

'Weren't you afraid you'd be caught?'

'Yeah, I was, but… I decided I couldn't disappoint Dr. Bertrand… or myself…'

Wesker sighed.

'You did a good thing. You did all this just to save lives'

'Yeah. It was worth it, alright! And what about you? What's your life story?'

Wesker smiled to himself.

'Maybe… another time'

'Well, as you wish'

'I think… I'm going to take a nap' Wesker said.

'Wow, was my story really that bad?' Adam laughed.

Albert just smiled a little himself.

'Whatever happens… don't wake me up… alright?'

'As you wish, cellmate!'


	32. The Vaccine

'It's ready! The vaccine is ready!' Angie jumped.

'Great news! Alright, let's take the first ones ourselves' Gabe said and grabbed a couple of syringes from the box Angie brought.

'Do you think it'll work?' Hank asked cautiously.

'Well, only one way to find out' the diagnostician pulled his sleeve up to his shoulder. 'Intravenous?'

'No! Even this small amount of weakened bacteria will cause significant amount of damage to your internal organs!'

'Wow… talk about a powerful virus!'

'It should be injected under the skin… Here, let me' the girl grabbed the syringe and rolled up Gabe's sleeve, then inserted the needle.

'Ouch!' Dr. Cunningham said as it penetrated his flesh. 'So, now what?'

'After a few minutes, your body should be completely immune to the T-Virus!'

'The T-Virus?'

'Yeah, that's how they dubbed it at Caduceus' Angie smiled.

'Oh, I see… Come on, big guy, you're next!'

One by one, all of the doctors got vaccinated, while the children got half of the dosage required.

'Alright! That means we're not turning mindless any time soon!' Gabe laughed. 'Now, let's administer the vaccine to everyone in the hospital!'

The staff shared the remaining needles and started going floor to floor, injecting everyone with it.

Although there were many patients, the doctors were also many and the work was done fairly quickly.

Just after administering her last vaccine, Tomoe went out in the hallway and looked through the window.

'We're halfway there now, aren't we? We only need the cure'

'You're aware that we need to get the cure in the next few hours if we hope to get any chance for it to work, right?' CR-S01 said behind her back.

'Yeah, I know. But… it's still something to look forward to'

The surgeon kept silent.

'By the way…' Tomoe continued. 'Did we give vaccines to the prisoners at the jail?'

'No. Dr. Cunningham should be giving them right now.

'I… I see…'

'OUCH!' Adam yelled.

'Oh, come on, I've had one of those too, it's not that bad!'

'I'm bad with needles!'

Gabe turned towards Wesker.

'What's up with him?'

'He said he's going to take a nap and warned me not to wake him up under any circumstances'

'Yeah, well this is kind of urgent. Helloooooo, sir! The vaccines are here!'

Wesker didn't respond.

'WAKE UP! WE'VE GOT THE VACCINES! What the hell…'

Gabe quickly unlocked the door and shook the sleeping man, knocking his glasses down, but not getting any other effect.

'Wait a sec…' Dr. Cunningham pulled the man's eyelids apart. 'Oh my God…'

His eyes weren't discolored. Instead, the irises were completely red.

'Bring me a stretcher ASAP! Prepare for surgery! The bastard's injected himself with the T-virus!'


	33. Showdown

'So I was wrong… I thought he'd used up the container to poison Jennifer Parker…' Naomi said at the conference. 'But he injected it into himself… 300 ml of concentrated T-virus inside his blood system… How's he even alive?'

'The vaccines contain only 10 ml of weakened T-virus cells, and during the testing intravenous injections proved extremely harmful to the patient' Angie responded. 'We must anticipate SEVERE organ damage, and I do mean that'

'With this amount of virus in his blood, most likely every major organ's affected. There's no way to determine how much, though, but I wouldn't be very optimistic' Gabe noted. 'The guy's a goner for sure'

'No!' CR-S01 yelled. 'I can save him! We need to open him up and try to fix the damage!'

'What? Are you crazy, kid? There's no way a single doctor can fix damage to all major organs before it's too late!'

'That's why he won't be by himself' Derek Stiles stepped in. 'I'm going to operate as well'

'What? Two doctors operating at the same time?'

'Yes. Two high-class doctor like these two are the only chance Mr. Wesker has for survival' Tomoe noted.

'He's ready!' a female nurse entered the room.

'Let's not waste any more time! Go!'

CR-S01, Derek and Angie gathered around the anesthetized Wesker, while everyone else was observing.

'Are you ready?' CR-S01 asked.

'Yes! This is the final battle against the T-Virus! I **will **save this patient!'

'Let's begin the operation' the young surgeon remarked and did the first cut.

'Oh God… What… What is this?' Angie gasped.

All of his organs were covered by a membrane and had additional red blood vessels around them.

'His organs are changing' CR-S01 gasped. 'The additional blood vessels most likely transport the virus around his entire body. He's… mutating'

'We can't let it happen! Any ideas?' Derek asked.

'We should begin by removing the vessels, and then the membrane'

'Wait! What if we trace the blood vessels! They must all lead somewhere, right? With so much concentrated virus, it's bound to create a body inside the host!' Angie said.

'Great idea! Now, let's see…' Derek started following them. 'Oh God… The heart… They all lead to the heart!'

'The heart is the most damaged organ. It won't be easy to penetrate inside and remove the virus! Not to mention, it can stop at any second!'

'Then let's not waste time and fix the other organs!' Derek said and looked at the stomach. 'Beginning incision'

The surgeon cut one of the red vessels. It started spewing blood and an unknown blue liquid'

'That's the T-Virus! It's leaking out!' CR-S01 quickly drained all of it.

'I… can't believe it. His organism still hasn't assimilated the entire injection. Who knows what would've happened if it did'

'His body wouldn't have survived it'

Derek quickly excised and removed the rest of the blood vessel, cutting it off right as it entered the heart.

'From what I can see… There are several blood vessels leading to every major organ'

'We must remove all of them. Let's move on to the…'

'DOCTOR STILES!' Angie gasped as the vein Dr. Stiles had just removed restored itself completely in a matter of seconds.

'What… WHAT THE? I've never seen anything like this! Even GUILT wasn't that fast!'

'There's gotta be a way! Let's cut it again!'

Dr. Stiles grabbed the scalpel and repeated the procedure.

'Right here!' CR-S01 said and cauterized the end of the vessel that was still connected to the heart.

'Do you think it'll stop it?'

'I doubt it. It'll just regenerate, but that will slow it down! There's one more vein connecting to the stomach. Let's cut it off the same way!'

Dr. Stiles did just that, thus cutting the stomach from the virus' control for a while.

'Now what?'

'Let's concentrate on removing the membrane!'

'This… I've seen it before… It's like GUILT!'

The doctors looked at the tiny spikes in the membranes.

'Look at the membrane! It's solid! Which means we have to burn it off with the laser'

'That's weird… It's like a super version of Triti!'

'Let's not waste any more time! Please remove the spikes!' CR-S01 asked as he stood by with the laser.

Dr. Stiles grabbed the forceps and started pulling the spikes out.

'Gah! It's… not easy. It's like they've penetrated inside the organ!'

'They're not, it's just the membrane!'

'Hmm…' the surgeon started pulling. 'That's odd… They're not regenerating'

'This condition is only similar to Triti, but not exactly the same. I don't expect the thorns to regenerate so soon'

After Dr. Stiles removed about half of the spikes, CR-S01 burned the membrane with the laser. It shattered into dozens of tiny pieces, two of which cut incisions into the flesh around.

'Angie! I need your help too!'

'Right away!' the girl responded and quickly sutured the incisions.

'It's working! I can see the stomach below!'

'Keep removing the thorns, Dr. Stiles!' the surgeon asked and destroyed yet another part of the membrane.

After about a minute or so, the entire stomach was clear.

'Did… Did we do it?'

'Not yet. It'll just regenerate unless we destroy the core of the virus in the heart'

'Yeah, and we can't do that unless we clear all the organs… gotcha'

'Let's move on to the liver!' CR-S01 said and cleaned up the stomach with antibiotic gel to slow down the inevitable reappearing of the membrane.

'My God… The liver's even worse!'

'The closer to the heart we'll get the worse the condition will be'

'I see… Let's cut off the vessels!'

With this, the two doctors continued their operation. They quickly managed to remove the blood vessels and destroy the shell… but what was underneath terrified them.

'What! What the hell is this?'

'Necrosis, no doubt about it'

'But… That's completely impossible!' Angie remarked.

'How do we treat it?'

'We… Need to excise the tissue before it affects the healthy one'

'Gah… This will require a lot of skill'

'Skill we luckily possess. Come on'

Very slowly and carefully, the doctors removed the affected tissue, cleaning up with antibiotic gel afterwards.

'All this missing tissue may cause issues later…' Dr. Stiles remarked

'That's not a problem. The liver can regenerate. I'm more worried about the heart. It'll most likely be in a far worse state than the liver. The T-Virus body is the only thing keeping it alive at the moment'

'I see… It's gonna be tough, but we have to do it! What's next?'

'The intestines. They're not as heavily damaged, and the membrane is much thinner. We should be able to finish up easily'

'Alright. Let's do it'

After only a few minutes of tough work, the intestines were also cleared of the disease.

'Argh… Next…' Derek said.

'Dr. Stiles!' Angie gasped. 'Your hand! It's trembling!'

'I'm alright! I just need… I need a little rest…'

CR-S01 looked around.

He could understand how his partner felt, as the prisoner himself felt tired from the exhausting battle, but there wasn't anyone suitable to replace them.

Then, he got an idea.

He grabbed the green vial and quickly filled a syringe.

'Hey! What are you doing? The patient's vitals are st—'

The sharp pain in the shoulder interrupted Derek's speech.

'The green revitalizer contains adrenaline. It'll help you focus'

'Gah… Thanks… I'm sorry, I don't know what got into me. Let's proceed. What's next?'

'The lungs'

'Alright. Let's see…' Dr. Stiles made the incision. 'What the…'

'What is it… Oh'

'What's going on here? This is not normal!'

'No, it is normal. That's the problem' CR-S01 stated.

'Could it mean that… It's already too late?'

'Yeah… The virus has already taken complete control over the organ. It no longer needs the protective membrane'

'Damn it! What now?'

'We need a transplant. That's the only way'

'A transplant? How can we transplant lungs? I've never heard of such a surgery!' Angie said angrily.

'I can do it! It's the only—'

'Kid! Derek! Catch!'

CR-S01 turned around and grabbed the box, then opened it.

It was full of syringes.

'What's this?'

'Derek's colleagues from Caduceus just dropped it with a helicopter' Gabe smiled. 'You better make good use of it! I almost got my ass killed out there to get it!'

'But that's… That's the cure!' Angie laughed. 'The cure, Derek!'

'That makes our whole situation much easier' Dr. Stiles smiled.

'Indeed. Hand me the ultrasound, please'

Angie complied.

CR-S01 used it to find the veins from the inside and injected them with the cure.

Almost immediately, they disappeared.

'They're… They're gone!'

'Dr. Stiles, do the same to the other lung! I'll fix up the holes from the needles!'

'Right away!'

Derek complied, and soon the lungs were free of the disease.

'Alright… So we've only got the heart left, right?'

'Yes… But it's not going to be easy. We need to stop it'

'WHAT? Stop the heart?'

'We can't open it up if it's not stopped. Don't worry, I've done it before'

Derek and Angie thought about it, then nodded.

'I trust your skills, Doctor'

'And I trust yours' CR-S01 said, and even though Derek couldn't see well through his partner's surgical mask, he could've sworn he just smiled. 'Hand me the neutralizer!'

Angie filled a syringe with the black vial and gave it to the doctor.

'Alright… Here goes… If we fail here, it's all over. Ready?'

'I'm ready'

With this, CR-S01 carefully inserted the needle into Wesker's heart, then slowly injected its contents.

The heart moved a few more times, then completely stopped.

'Quickly! Scalpel!'

Angie complied.

CR-S01 did a quick and clean incision, then opened up the heart.

'Oh God… Is that it?'

The black ball in the middle of Wesker's heart was pulsating with anger, obviously agitated by its veins being cut off.

'We… We have no pulse' Angie said as she looked at the flatlining monitors.

'What do we do now? It's covered with a protective shell!' Derek yelled.

'Patient… Patient is dead, Doctor!'

'No! We can still do it! We only have a couple of seconds! We need to make a miracle!' CR-S01 said.

'I'll give you a miracle!' Dr. Stiles concentrated.

Suddenly, time slowed down.

As quickly as he could, he started to remove the thorns and burn the membrane with the laser.

But even his Healing Touch wasn't helping.

"Come on… Come on… Just a little longer…" he thought as he kept cutting the heavy membrane around the black ball.

But it was too late.

Until that point, Derek had only used Healing Touch for about 15 seconds.

And they were already up.

"No… NO! Concentrate, Derek!" the doctor thought, trembling from the pressure.

His head started to hurt, the tools were slipping away from his fingers, his body was on the edge of a breakdown.

"Come on… I can do it… I can save this patient…"

He kept going. Despite the pain, the young doctor kept pushing and cutting, until there was no membrane left, thus directly exposing the black sphere to the outside world.

Dr. Stiles spent more than a minute in Healing Touch after finally completing the surgery.

'Inject it… Inject… it…' was the last thing he said before he collapsed.

'DR. STILES!' Angie screamed.

As fast as he could, CR-S01 took a syringe with the cure and slammed it into the black sphere, then injected its contents. But it wasn't enough.

'I'm not done yet, you monster!' he said and injected yet another one.

The black ball was shaking so rapidly the skilled doctor couldn't even see it to give it the third injection.

'There!' he finally said and slammed it right in the middle of the heart, nailing the sphere.

The T-Virus body suddenly stopped moving and slowly disintegrated, disappearing into nothingness.

'Let this disease pass from this world' CR-S01 proclaimed and quickly stitched up the heart.

Then, he started to massage it.

'Angie! The defibrillator!'

The girl got up and immediately brought the device. They pressed it against Wesker's heart and triggered it.

'That's not enough! Higher voltage!'

Deep down inside, Angie knew the truth.

Albert Wesker was dead. In fact, he'd been dead for a little less than a minute already.

But something forced her to increase the voltage and let her partner try again.

He did. Fruitlessly.

'Come on! We defeated the T-Virus! Don't pass away now! We did it! We saved you, damn it!'

Finally, the young doctor tried for a third time, slamming the pads into the heart.

The electricity struck both the patient and the doctor.

*Beep*

*Beep*

*Beep*

'Was… Was that a pulse?' Angie looked. 'Doctor! That's a pulse! He's alive! He's alive!'

'They did it!' Hank yelled to everyone. 'Hey, they did it!'

'We did it…' CR-S01 smiled to himself. 'We did it'


	34. Hopeful Future

'Urgh… Where… Where am I?'

'Don't speak, Mr. Wesker, you're still very weak. The surgery was intense'

'Dr. Tachibana… I'm alive… How?'

'Thanks to two of the most skilled surgeons in the world' she smiled.

'Heh… Too bad it's a wasted effort'

Tomoe frowned.

'It is against the path of honor to be ungrateful for someone else's kindness. You have no idea what those two surgeons went through just so you could live!'

'But… But why? I caused so much pain and suffering…'

'Don't you understand, Mr. Wesker?' she smiled. 'You're not alone! You haven't lost everything as you thought! You may have made mistakes in the past, but it's the future you must look at! And that's exactly what they gave you – a future'

'I... I don't know what to say, Dr. Tachibana'

'Then don't say anything' she smiled gently. 'There'll be plenty of time for speaking when you recover'

Albert started to shake.

'I… I…' tears started to fall down his eyes, which he fruitlessly tried to cover up. 'I'm sorry… I've never cried before in my life…'

'Then I guess this is the first time you've truly realized you're not alone in this world, and that no matter what you did, there will be people like us that can forgive you and help you'

Wesker wiped his tears off.

'Thank you'

Dr. Tachibana smiled once again.

'I'll leave you now. I strongly suggest you take some rest and let your body recover'

'You know what… Maybe I'll do just that, Dr. Tachibana'

'Please, Tomoe is fine' she smiled and left the room.

Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the hospital, another patient was also waking up from their slumber.

'Uhm…'

'Hey, are you alright? Can you talk?'

'Hmm… Maria? What… I'm alive?'

'Yahoo!' the paramedic gave her friend a strong hug. 'You really got me worried for a second!'

Lizzy looked around.

'But how… I felt life slipping away… How did I survive?'

'That would be me' a man entered the room. 'I'm Adam Graham, Resurgam's neurologist'

'Huh? But…'

'I had to open you and restore the damage the virus had done to your brain manually. It… really wasn't easy… But it was worth it when it worked at the end' he smiled widely.

'Doctor… I don't know what to say…'

'A thanks is always nice' he grinned.

Lizzy's eyes filled with tears.

'Thanks! Thanks, Doctor!'

'Alright, that's enough, Adam! Leave the girl to rest!'

'What? Why won't YOU leave her too?' Adam resisted Maria's urging.

'Because I… Uhm… Shut up! She's my friend, you asshole, of course I'm staying with her!'

'Well, alright, as you wish!' Adam winked and left. 'I'll check in on her later, tho—'

'Leave!'

'Okay, okay…' the doctor did just that.

And almost bumped with Gabe Cunningham.

'Hey, watch it!'

'Sorry, Dr. Cunningham. It was Maria' Adam laughed.

'Heh, it's alright. After what you did, it's forgiven'

'Doctor… I don't think I've properly thanked you yet for not turning me in… It… It means a lot, it truly does!'

Gabe laughed.

'Don't thank me. Thank the whole trauma team, it was their decision'

The man smiled.

'Besides… Even under a fake name, you still saved two lives. Not to mention, you helped distribute the cure. And in my book, that means you're good enough'

Adam smiled, then remembered something.

'And… And what about Albert Wesker? What will happen to him?'

'Well, he will be reported to the authorities, but…' Gabe bit his cigarette. 'The T-Virus suitcase will be found in 15 days at the reception of the hospital. And until then, he may or may not be still here'

'Oh, I see… You're a good person, Dr. Cunningham'

'No, I'm not. Again, it was the team's decision. They didn't want to undermine the kid's efforts'

'I'm not sure that's all there is to it. I spoke with Dr. Tachibana earlier. She's surprisingly good at seeing through people'

'Yeah, she is' Gabe laughed.

'She said Mr. Wesker had changed. And I believe it'

'Heh… Maybe he did. What's wrong with someone changing for the better?'

Dr. Graham smiled.

'Hey, Dr. Cunningham… I'm going to the roof for a while'

'Alright. Catch you later!' the diagnostician said and departed.

Adam quickly passed through the staircase and went to the rooftop.

The chaos that had ensued just a few days ago had now stepped down to the usual harmony and quiet.

The man looked up.

The sun was rising.

And with it, a new and hopeful future.


	35. The 8th Doctor

'Hey! What's up?' Dr. Graham smiled and looked at his friend. 'You seem tired. I'd be too. That's, what, 72 pages?'

Adam laughed and sat down, prompting his friend to do the same.

'Hey… Thanks. You know, for making it here. If it wasn't for you, none of us would have made it through this. It means a lot'

The neurologist looked at the sky.

'Beautiful, isn't it? It's always good when things end well, don't you think?'

Adam looked at his friend in the eyes and laughed.

'Hey, don't forget to review, alright? We like that. A lot'

The surgeon got up and removed the dust from his clothes, then headed for the exit.

'Well… I gotta go. I have a surgery scheduled that starts in 10 minutes… Maria's gonna eat me alive if I'm even more late' he laughed.

Just before he left. Dr. Graham looked at his friend in the eye one last time.

'Hey… I know I already said it, but… Thank you. I mean it. You truly are the 8th Doctor of Trauma Team' he winked, then left.

'Hey!' he shouted. 'See you later, alright? I've got a lot more stories to tell you!'


End file.
